by Oxford, Rain
She frowned and glanced between Mordon and me. “My mother would kill me. I… I really can’t.”
“We understand,” Edward said quickly, then politely encouraged her out the door before she could change her mind. He returned a few moments later. “Have you figured out why you and Mordon were separated?”
“Yeah.” I flashed the three of us home to Duran and sent out a call to Divina and my demon at the same time. Xul doesn’t belong to me anymore, so he doesn’t have to answer my call. Unfortunately, I knew he would be vital to our success.
As soon as the light cleared and left us in front of my cabin, the door opened. Ron, Hail, Sen, Sari, and the griffins came out onto the porch. Divina and Xul appeared a moment later.
“What’s going on, Dad?” Hail asked, taking Ron’s hand and tugging him closer as if we were about to be attacked.
Ron’s hair was dark purple and his eyes were deep azure. His shirt was button up, satin, and matched his hair and eyes both. It would look one color or the other depending on the lighting. His blue jeans actually looked plain in comparison. I knew he looked the way he did and said the things he did to garner attention. When he learned to see himself for who he was, he would still be eccentric, but he would be happy.
“Someone is messing with us,” I said.
“Zero?” Ron asked.
“I was unconscious for the last three days and I only had one vision…” I paused. “Which you and I need to talk about,” I told my brother. “…but I had a lot of time to think.”
“Uh oh.”
“Shut up, Mordon,” I said.
“Did you remember Zero?” Hail asked.
Samhail was another matter entirely. My older son was true to his heart to a fault. Hail would be a lot happier if he was more selfish, but until he had someone in his life to come between him and his brother, he would never see himself as anything more than Ron’s protector. Whereas Ron wanted to be loved, Hail wanted to be appreciated. Ron knew his brother very well, but he didn’t understand that he never expressed selflessness. He never expressed his respect for his brother, and that would have to change.
It had made it considerably more difficult to figure Zero out when I couldn’t remember him possessing me, but that turned out to be a clue. “Actually, I don’t. However, I have figured out who he is.”
“Damn!” Ron swore. “I wanted to be the one to figure it out! Was he keeping us apart?”
“No, actually, it’s a lot more complicated than that. The gods are---”
I was cut off by a small explosion a few feet in front of me. Mordon pushed me back, his claws and teeth shifted, before I even realized there was danger. When the smoke faded, Janus was struggling to his feet.
The man was torn up and bloodied, but since he was alive, he couldn’t complain much. “Dylan…” he panted. “The war has begun.”
“I know. Thank you for healing Samhail and for getting those hunters off our backs,” I said.
“It was Mordon who healed me,” Hail said. “At least he healed the urgent stuff. Vretial healed my blindness and powers.”
“I didn’t heal you. I told you it wasn’t me,” Mordon argued. “How did you know about that? I didn’t get a chance to tell you that Hail thought I---”
“You told me while I slept.”
“No I didn’t. I pretty much forgot about it.”
“Daddy, where was the battle axe?” Ron asked.
“On Mulo.”
“Where did I get the wand?”
“The wand was actually the mage staff, which you got from Ronez and gave to the mage king.”
“Oh, shit,” Divina said. “You’re more powerful than ever; maybe even more powerful than the Iadnah now.”
“No, that’s what I’m trying to tell you! Never mind, we’ll have to talk about that later. Someone has been keeping us apart and wasting our time. Janus has been going around and trying to help us in disguise. He went to Divina looking like Ronez and the boys looking like Mordon.”
“Now we’re out of time,” the void guardian said.
“Who are you?” I asked him. “I know something, but I haven’t figured out what yet.”
He grinned. “If you haven’t figured it out by the end of the war, I will tell you.” The burns on his face and cuts all over his body were fading as he spoke. His dark brown hair slowly faded in color, not to gray, just in intensity. His dark brown eyes looked a little less clear as well. Although the wounds were healing, it was taking a toll on him that might not have been worth it.
“You’re dying.”
His smile was sad. “Yes, but I have enough life left to help you win this.” As he said this, he reached out as if grasping an invisible weapon. A sword appeared in his hand.
“Shouldn’t you be helping by guarding the void?” Edward asked.
“The two demons Dylan put in charge can do more than I can to guard it. Besides, I have been waiting for as long as time to be on the other side.”
“Is everyone ready?” Of course, there was no time, so it didn’t really matter if they weren’t.
I knew… somehow… that demons were beginning to flood the universe.
Ron pulled the dagger from a small holster on his side. “We have the dagger and battle axe, Regivus has the bow, you have the wand, and Vretial has the sword,” he said.
“We need to get the mage staff,” Mordon said.
Along with many other things I had no explanation for, I knew about Rojan’s deal with Atos. Mordon was my brother and could never betray me for anything. Rojan, on the other hand, was a dragon and would do what dragons did, which was to protect their family. Arazel was his family.
I also knew about Mordon’s deal with Vretial, which I could appreciate. He did what he could to help my son and I was glad he did. The problem was that if I gave Mordon the weapon, he would be torn.
Another factor I had to account for was Ron and Hail’s visions of Mordon killing me. Divina was correct; I knew too much now. The fact was, losing my life was the least of my concerns in this case. The boys were not going to tell me their secret and put the decision in my hands, but I would make the decision anyway.
I could see what would happen if I gave my brother the weapon, and I could see what would happen if I gave it to Vretial myself. There was no path I could see that would bring happiness to my family, but I knew which one could possibly work out okay in the end.
“I’m sorry,” I said to Mordon.
“For what?”
“The next few months are going to be very difficult for you. I’m going to leave the mage staff in the magic room.”
He hesitated. “If that’s what you think is best.” He hated himself for not telling me about Rojan’s plan, but I knew he would have told me before I gave him the staff. That was okay; he would hate me before this was over.
I closed my eyes and focused on the gods. It was my intention to inform them of our situation, but they apparently already knew what was going on, because when I opened my eyes, we were on a new world. This was not a world I wanted my children living on.
The sky was more green than blue, which made me cautious in breathing. There was no plant life or water in sight, so it must have been by Avoli’s magic that there was oxygen to breathe. It wasn’t exactly a desert either; the ground beneath us was hard and cracked, like the bed of a dried up river. We were on a cliff overlooking a vast span of nothingness. There was nothing alive as far as I could see.
“Mordon, go check on Nila,” I said. I could feel his frown, but he would do as I asked. I flashed him to Dios knowing full well Atos was going to be one of our greatest challenges.
Then demons began appearing on the ground in front of us, which put us at a much higher elevation since we were on the cliff. The gods all appeared behind us, even Vretial.
Avoli hid from the older god behind Regivus. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“Don’t worry, I’m not here to stay. I just wanted to drop this off,” the dark g
od said, holding out the sword he used to temporarily hold off Zero. He leaned in close enough to whisper as he handed me the sword. “This is your last chance,” he said quietly. “Give me the staff.”
I grinned. “You’re starting to sound like a broken record, Vretial. I’m not a clueless child anymore. I know what I’m doing.”
“They’re going to hate you.”
“At least they will be alive to do so.”
“Goodbye.” He vanished.
I should have been shaking or at least second-guessing myself. Instead, I was calm. As demons appeared as far as I could see, Guardians and then people from every world arrived to defend their universe. Life depended on our success.
Chapter 12
Nila
I sighed with frustration as three young— very young— women stood before me… shaking.
The world was a better place for sure now that we had sunlight and plenty of resources. A new High Kingdom was built, for the people still insisted on segregating themselves. After many years, I gave up on the idea that my people could be united. Instead, they rebuilt their cities and appointed new city kings. I was still High King.
Since the lower cities were reclaimed by the earth dwellers, like the trolls and goblins, I was finally able to move above ground. Kseve was the only guard I retained with special allowances from Zer. My god gave the goblin the power to live in the sunlight for as long as he served me and with the promise that he would never have children. Immunity to sunlight was not something that any goblin should have, but I had refused to relocate without my most trusted friend.
It took time for my guard to adapt, especially since the architects of this new world insisted on building more windows than walls. I was not a fan of sunburn.
Kseve stood to the left of my pompous throne with his usual scowl. I knew he was laughing on the inside, however. Nano stood to the right of me, barely containing his uncalled for amusement. Sunlight streamed through the skylight, illuminating the carefully placed girls. The council, made up of twelve older, boring men who only ever wanted to talk about money, sat in their seats that lined the official throne room.
Desaco, king of one of the smallest cities, came forward. He appeared too young to be the father of the three women that were presented to me, but who was I to talk?
“High King, there is no one else worthy of any of my daughters,” the man said. Three of the councilmen snickered.
Nano put his hand on my shoulder, as if offering me support. In reality, I knew he was trying to tell me to hold my tongue. There was nothing I could say to the visiting king that would have been mature and reasonable.
“You can choose any of my daughters to take as your wife. If you choose, I would be honored for you to have all three.” Eskreda, one of my councilmen laughed until her husband put his hand over her mouth.
With as much dignity as I could muster, I studied the women. They were all light blond with light blue eyes. Each of them was gorgeous, had lovely, unblemished complexions, and proportional, symmetrical features. They all wore fancy, colorful dresses that carefully displayed their womanly assets. The oldest wore a light blue dress, the next wore a bright green dress, and the next, who I couldn’t imagine had even reached puberty, was wearing a pink dress.
Desaco may have ruled the smallest of lands, but he was also one of the richest of any man on Dios due to the natural resources of his lands. However, his money was not the reason I was forced to remain in my seat and be subjected to this horror. Three other kingdoms were starting to band together and develop weapons. Of course, they insisted it was for self-defense, but I knew better. Worse, they were planning on trying to appoint a new High King and were gaining supporters. One of the reasons they were so successful was because I had no wife.
Desaco was accosted by this rising opposition, but money proved more powerful than blades. The king then offered his alliance to me, including the aid of his money and the unwavering loyalty of more than half of the remaining population of my world in exchange for my marriage to one of his daughters.
I felt like I should have had the loyalty of my people after I gave them back the use of the surface world, but there were many factors that acted against me. The greatest deterrent, of course, was the fact that I was a void. Nobody wanted an unmarried void who looked like a child to rule over the entire world.
I never told anyone that I actually had the opportunity to end my curse, nor that I would make the same decision again if it ever came to that. My appearance was not something I could change. Although I was older than the king standing before me or even any of my councilmen, I barely looked like an adult. This was most likely because of my bond with the abyss. I still felt as young as my body; I still wanted to have fun, travel, and shirk my responsibilities.
Instead, I had to sit here and choose a wife or risk losing my kingdom. Worse than losing my position, I was afraid of the next High King using his power to build weapons. My people were too prone to violence to have such a temptation.
I tapped Nano’s hand until he leaned down. “Explain this to me again,” I whispered.
He sighed. “You need to marry and have a son. If you were killed now, your throne would be up for grabs and there would be no bloodline to take it by default. If you are killed while your child is too young to take the throne, your appointed advisor will take command in the child’s stead until he is old enough to make his own decisions.”
I glanced as Kseve, whose scowl never wavered. He was already old when I was born; he was getting tired of people. I knew he cared about me, but I didn’t want him to die to protect me. He was getting too old for me to rely on him.
“Daughter in the blue dress, what is your name?” I asked.
“Zeda,” she said, her voice brave and polite. The one in the green dress looked like she was about to cry and the youngest daughter looked terrified. Zeda looked almost angry that she and her sisters were put in this position.
“Where is your mother?”
“She died giving birth to Ada.”
“I take it you raised your sisters?”
“We had a governess,” she said, taking her sisters’ hands. They may have had someone to clothe, feed, and teach them, but Zeda was the one to love them.
“Daughter in the green dress, what is your name?”
The middle daughter halfway hid behind her older sister. Zeda was their strength as well.
“Her name is Thessa, and she does not like to talk. Thessa would not make a good wife,” she said, a glare sneaking across her pretty face as if she was daring me to argue with her. Desaco looked like he wanted to smack her, but he didn’t move.
“If I choose not to marry any of you, will you be punished?”
“Our father loves us, but unmarried daughters bring him no honor. He would marry each of us off as fast as he can,” Zeda said boldly.
Ada shook, staring intently at the black marble floor as if we would all disappear as long as she ignored us. We were all monsters to her. She couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen. How many years before her father found someone to marry her to?
“I will take all three of them,” I said.
The councilmen all displayed shock. Zeda’s face turned ashen and her sisters both hid behind her while their father could barely contain his excitement. Even Kseve looked at me with bewilderment. Nano held up his hand when the councilmen started talking and within a few moments, they fell silent again.
“You mean to take three wives?” Nano asked me carefully.
“Of course not! I will take Zeda as my wife, but her sisters still need her. Zeda will be their official guardian so that no one can marry them against their will.”
For a few blessed moments, not a sound disturbed the air… and then Desaco looked mortified. “You propose to take all three of my daughters, but only to produce an heir by one of them? Then if you have no son---”
“It would be my problem, not yours. You will still have three daughters in the house
of the High King. What you tell your people is your business. While they live here and receive a quality education, many kings and princes will cross their paths. They will be happy and can still marry into royalty. If you refuse, I will respect your decision, but I will not choose any one daughter on her own.”
“Can you have children?” Zeda asked before her father could respond. “I mean no offense, High King, but you are a void. Are you able to produce children?”
“I am, it would just mean I could not touch the child for too long.”
“The void is in your blood. How can your child not carry the affliction?”
“My affliction is a curse placed upon me by my father’s murder.” Even as I said it, I really didn’t know if I was correct or not. I knew my blood could destroy a person’s bond with magic, but if it could be passed to my offspring, it was truly worse than I had anticipated. I couldn’t bear to bring a child into the world with the same curse.
It wasn’t that being a void was so bad; I just didn’t want my child to suffer the same estrangement I suffered. Even knowing that I was going to be High King of Dios, my own mother treated me like a disease. If I had a child with void-bonded blood, I couldn’t be sure that Zeda would treat him any better than I was treated.
Zeda bowed. “Then I would be honored to be your wife, High King,” she lied. Nobody wanted a void as their husband, especially not when I looked younger than her.
* * *
Three days later, I was standing in front of the doors of my castle, waiting for my wife to arrive. I shuddered.
Kseve put his hand on my shoulder. “Would you like more tea, Nila?” he asked.
“I had six cups of tea today. I want to throw up. This is wrong, Kseve. I was never supposed to be married.”
“Zeda is young, but she has a strong spirit. She can speak with the elegance of a queen, but I have heard her speak in private with her sisters. She is no child. Also, her library is even greater than yours, and I heard from her servants that she is bringing her collection with her.”